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IPFS News Link • Law Enforcers or Peace Officers

Renton Police Drop Cyberstalking Investigation of Cartoon Creator, Pursue Harassment Claim Instead

• Reason magazine
Mr. Fuddlesticks, the pseudonymous creator of YouTube cartoons mocking the Renton, Washington, police department, no longer faces a "cyberstalking" investigation. In early August, KOMO KIRO, the CBS affiliate in Seattle, reported that King County Superior Court Judge James Cayce had approved a search warrant demanding information about Mr. Fuddlesticks from Google, which owns YouTube. After a local attorney challenged the warrant on First Amendment grounds, Cayce scheduled a hearing on the matter, imposing a stay in the meantime. Suddenly the Renton police lost interest in the warrant, saying "there has been no relevant information that we have uncovered to date on the cyberstalking case to further a criminal investigation."

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